WalletHub Shutdown Report: Most & Least Affected States

Published: October 11, 2013

Following on the heels of last week’s evaluation of the shutdown’s impact on consumers’ wallets, the personal finance social network WalletHub today released a report examining which states stand to be hit the hardest by this funding debacle.

The report took into account not only which states have the highest concentration of federal employees and the most significant federal contracts, but also the areas in which there are large populations of people who have lost or are at risk of losing key funding from federal entities, such as students, small business owners, senior citizens, and veterans. Ironically enough, WalletHub concluded that states won by the Republican Party in the 2012 presidential election could be hit disproportionately hard by a prolonged government shutdown, as 15 such Red States ranked in the top 25 in the study’s overall “at-risk” rankings.

Below you can find WalletHub’s full rankings, along with other main findings from the Shutdown Report and commentary from Odysseas Papadimitriou, CEO of the personal finance websites WalletHub and CardHub. The report’s methodology can also be found here.

Overall Rankings

1

Virginia

18

Pennsylvania

35

Rhode Island

2

Alaska

19

South Carolina

36

Illinois

3

Alabama

20

Oklahoma

37

New Hampshire

4

District of Columbia

21

Vermont

38

Arkansas

5

Maine

22

Georgia

39

West Virginia

6

Maryland

23

Wyoming

40

North Carolina

7

New Mexico

24

Tennessee

41

Michigan

8

Colorado

25

Kentucky

42

Louisiana

9

Idaho

26

Texas

43

Kansas

10

Hawaii

27

Mississippi

44

Delaware

11

Washington

28

Florida

45

Nebraska

12

South Dakota

29

California

46

Nevada

13

Missouri

30

Massachusetts

47

Wisconsin

14

Utah

31

Oregon

48

Minnesota

15

Arizona

32

Ohio

49

New York

16

Montana

33

New Jersey

50

Indiana

17

North Dakota

34

Connecticut

51

Iowa

Other Main Findings

DC, Maryland, Alaska, Hawaii, and Virginia have the most federal workers per capita and are thus disproportionately affected by the shutdown’s immediate impact.

DC, Virginia, Alaska, New Mexico, and Maryland receive the most federal contract money per capita, which means folks in those areas stand to lose out even if they don’t technically work for the federal government.

Small business owners from the Dakotas, Colorado, Alaska, and Michigan who are looking for funding are hurt most by an inability to garner SBA loans, as those states have displayed the highest small business borrowing rates in recent years.

Officials in West Virginia, Maine, Arkansas, Alabama, and Vermont should be particularly concerned about a prolonged shutdown, as their states have the most senior citizens per capita.

Delayed mortgage closing will have the largest impact on Hawaii, Florida, Arizona, Maryland, and Louisiana – the five states in which real estate accounts for the greatest portion of gross product.

Disruptions to federal student aid programs would be especially harmful to Georgia, Mississippi, Arkansas, South Carolina, and Louisiana, as those states boasted the greatest number of FAFSA applications per capita during the third quarter of 2013.

Alaska, Virginia, Montana, Wyoming, and Maine have the most veterans per capita and would therefore suffer most from a lack of VA funding, which could result from a drawn out shutdown.

“With the federal government shutdown entering its second week and no resolution in sight, it’s becoming increasingly obvious that the impact of this forced hiatus will extend far beyond the 800,000 federal workers who are currently on furlough. And while we’re all losers in this situation, it’s interesting to note that Republican-leaning states stand to suffer the most,” said Odysseas Papadimitriou, CEO of the personal finance websites WalletHub and CardHub. “From senior citizens and veterans who aren’t getting their Social Security and VA checks to students and small business owners whose loan applications go unfulfilled, there will be plenty of angry constituents for politicians to answer to. Let’s just hope they get the message before we set the economic recovery back too far or allow partisan politics to ruin America’s good name with investors worldwide.”